


Prepared

by Coelpts



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Carrots, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-04-30 00:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5143415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coelpts/pseuds/Coelpts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of course, you had heard of the legends surrounding Mt. Ebott. That just made what hid inside all the more tantalizing. But one couldn't go spelunking without proper equipment!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prolouge

**Author's Note:**

> A short idea that hit me very suddenly on my way to bed. Started as a one-shot, but now an actual story.

This was it. Today was the big day. Today, you had decided, would be the day you left for Ebott.

Of course, you **had** heard of the legends surrounding Mt. Ebott. People had been disappearing without a trace if they so much as climbed the mysterious tower of earth and stone. Nobody was quite sure what to make of the mountain. It was beautiful in all seasons, no doubt about it, and if not for the flurry of furious rumors it would be an amazingly popular tourist and skiing destination. However, rumors do exist for a reason. Most sensible people would stay away from the landmark. As far as they were concerned, it was a death wish to approach.

And although you are sensible, or at least you think you are, you are also not most people. The rumors, the fear, the promise of adventure...! That just made what hid inside all the more tantalizing! The moment you set your eyes on it the very first time, you swore you heard the dark caverns it held beneath calling your name.

You were still a sensible person, though. As much as the tang of uncharted territory and forbidden lands excited you, one couldn't go spelunking without proper equipment. You would otherwise meet the same fate as several other individuals, and your death was not yet scheduled on your calendar.

The planning stage had stretched from your Junior year of High School all the way to now. With all that time, you had saved for and bought every piece of equipment you thought you might need. It was difficult, to be sure. Your car wasn't exactly in tip-top shape, and your job hours were winding down for the season, but you managed.

And now, today. The big one. You called your employer and friends in advance to tell them about your journey into Mt. Ebott. You had paid your upcoming rent long before it was due. The entire week was planned to be a long camping trip at the base of the mountain! With more than enough food and water for all five days and your skin crawling in anticipation, you set out to the great mountain.

You were prepared. It filled you with determination.

* * *

Mind, however, that it still wasn't easy to get to Ebott. It was still a good three hours out of the way with a pitted dirt road serving as your trail for a quarter of the segment. By now the sound of clamoring silverware and plastic rods was getting on your final nerve. It takes you every ounce of patience you have to not simply pull over and set up shop where you were instead of hiking the full way. How you survived the fifty or so minutes of grinding and scraping metal, you really aren't sure.

A well timed beeping from your GPS is a welcome distraction and you angle your steering wheel to the left, taking a turn into a grassy alcove. Finally, you could turn off the car and get some quiet...!

But no time for that. With renewed vigor and a skip in your step, the car is halted and trunk thrown open with reckless abandon. You don't have all day now. All that driving took a serious toll on your schedule. Instead, you get right to work. First you take up a sturdy, yet lump-filled pack and swing it over both of your shoulders. A heavy grunt vocalizes without your permission. Goodness, was the pack heavier than the last time you put it on? You weren't sure. One hand keeps a hand on a strap and the other reaches out to grab the tent carrier. It is thankfully much lighter, and you're able to haul it out with relative ease. With another grunt, you allow the pack to fall on your back and grab your ice chest with your final hand.

The car's trunk is slammed shut and locked, just for safety you tell yourself, and you begin your long hike on foot. Some people were able to stray around the mountain and got some great photos of the surrounding landscape, and you saw a rather menacing cave mouth in one of them. But the pictures simply didn't do it justice.

The crunch of dying leaves beneath your boots was lost in your admiration of the forest. Tall and sturdy oak trees shook their leafy charges, a very light breeze blowing through the world like the dying breath of a giant below. Small streams and creeks trickled along, some flowing into pock marks in the mountains face. Others dodged the pitfalls completely, instead making small pools and fountains of beautiful, clear water. Some others still were slightly frozen over, an early morning frost melting quickly in the early autumn sun. The thought of what these little rivers might look like in the spring, after the snow melts...

You are prepared. It fills you with determination.

* * *

 

A rough hour of walking, taking in sights, and admiring the green and yellows of this world eventually paid off. You had found the mouth of the cave, and on accident as well. In your awe of the raw beauty of the world you very nearly slipped on some wet leaves and mud. It had thankfully caught in your boots, crumbling and squelching you to a halt. How unfortunate it would be if all your planning came to an anticlimax by simply sliding into the caves!

At least you were prepared.

Your phone still has quite a bit of charge. It may be an old brick, but the battery could last a week. A quick check solidifies your giddiness. You're right on schedule, perhaps even with time to spare!

You waste no time in pitching your tent. It's one of those nice domed ones, not a simple triangular tent. No, if you were camping, you would go all out. You would sleep in the woods with style! It wasn't very far from the cave, either. You found a plain just before the mouth opened its terrible jaws.

A quick cold lunch later, you can't hold in your anticipation any longer. It was time.

An unzip of your large pack showed that you were well more than prepared. A fleece under suit, abrasive over suit, some gloves, and a helmet with a mounted light are all piled atop each other. Below that, your climbing harness, some carabiners, and a long length of rope sit coiled around a knife, a hammer, and several bolts. And beneath even those sits a long ladder, rolled into a compact cylinder filled with aluminum bars.

Your mild exhaustion cannot contain the pure giddiness of finally, finally coming to this point. The under and over suits are equipped with speed rivaling a popping balloon with a hair net keeping your locks in place. Gloves are equipped soon after, but for now the helmet stays in the pack. You slide a small baggie of carrot sticks in a side pocket too, along with other snacks and a generous canteen. Finally, several bolts are placed in yet another side pouch and the hammer slides into your hand.

Once again with little regard for your own safety, you bolt toward the cavern, only to slide to a stop when you remember just how slippery that mud had been. Best not slide in again. As fun as it could be, now was really not the time. You instead take a bit of caution and inch toward the beginning of the yawning maw, stretching eternally into the abyss. A test of the waters proves your sinking suspicion, that the inside of the cave had not yet dried from last weeks rain. Your mood soured a bit, but you were absolutely enthralled with the musk of adventure before you.

Instead of continuing to be rational and retiring for the day, hoping the cavern would dry out by tomorrow, your eagerness gets the better of you. Shuffling deeper into the cavern only provides more of the same, mushy leaves and earth with a bit of plant roots holding the whole cave together. With a bit of sliding, however, you eventually discover one of those many wounds in the side of the mountain opens up here as well, with an almost angelic shaft of light glittering down into a giant hole.

You decide to inch ever closer. Closer, closer, until the ground retains its solidity and you can take actual steps. Small ones, of course. And lucky that they were small, too. If not, you would have tripped over this large lump of earth!

Lump of earth.

A kick and a stomp shows you that this earth is packed pretty tightly. It isn't muddied at all, just completely solid soil. A perfect place to hold a ladder down.

You swiftly get to work, shrugging your pack to the ground behind you. The lamp is now fastened to your head, as even with the light, it's dark in here. Everything else is expunged from the pack, ladder, rope, harness and all. You don't need much of it, in fact you may just explore the cavern beneath this one for the day. Still, you set the rolled up ladder in place atop the mound. With one hand on a spike and the other with the hammer, you slam the needle into the earth.

You think you hear a yelp down below, but it's probably your imagination. Maybe the bolts are scraping a rock? Repeated hammering makes similar noises. Its just something below the dirt that's making a noise.

It doesn't take long to finish affixing the ladder to the mound. You repack your various things and, with decisive will, unclasp the ladder so it can roll down the cave's mouth.

 _Clika-clika-clika-clika-clika,_ the ladder rolls into the illuminated depths, growing fainter and fainter with every rung it leaves behind. _Clika-clika-clika-clika-clika,_ it rolls to your fate.

 _Clika-clika-clik._ The ladder is unrolled. With no hesitation, you begin your climb down.

You feel prepared. You are filled with determination.

* * *

 

The hole continues for some time, before it abruptly ended in a patch of golden flowers. You couldn't quite understand it. The cavern above looked so deep, so menacing, perhaps even wild, and yet the room it opened up to looked decisively carved out. Chipped pillars crumbled on the sides of the semi-circular crypt, caps missing and polish wearing thin in the years. It looked like some ruin, but of what? Who could live down here to do this? Maybe, those missing people were alive...? Did they live here, maybe?

You tap your fingers a bit. You might have stumbled upon something big. Your boots slapped against the floor with a hearty thump, making the room reverberate with more of your own thoughts. Why was this place here? What was its purpose? Most importantly...

Why did these flowers look so nicely cared for?

You shuffle to the bed of flowers, inspecting some, before a sharp _kraka-krak-krak_ makes the world shake. The echoes originate from directly behind you. It's the sound of metal joining with metal, scraping and turning with no regard to your sensitive hearing. You most assuredly recognized it from the car ride here.

With a gasp of horror and confusion, you turn and watch as the ladder tumbles down the side of the cavern. Every rung hits at least one outcropping of exposed stone or soil, causing small chips to fly down and shower your helmet with dirt. It won't stop, it hasn't stopped yet! The noise would haunt your nightmares for days to come. The thin, tinny  _krak-krak-krak-krak_ would never leave your mind. It was the sound of failure. Hadn't you secured those spikes?

Sure enough, the final rungs collapse into a heap with the rest of their kind, two spikes lodged into the thimbles. Both bolts were entwined with a vine-like root substance and some sort of sap. But, hadn't you...?

That was it. Your tired body stopped. The exhaustion, fear, anxiety, and realization caught up too late, and with a flop you sit on the flower bed. They are so soft. Even if you had fell, these would have broken your fall. The pack dropped too, and it was all you could do to retrieve the bag of carrots. You were so tired, but the very light pat pat pat of urgent footsteps didn't escape your abused eardrums.

"What could have caused that noise...Ah!" Another quiet echo whispers into your thoughts. So someone was here with you. You weren't going to die. You might be able to escape...

More soft footfalls step to the area where your discarded ladder sits in a fetal position. "Is this what made such a racket, young one?" They ask. Their voice is just as soft as their steps, almost motherly in tone. It oozes into and out of your ears like warm honey. You nod slightly out of embarrassment, a warm tingling feeling rising to your cheeks. It isn't the fleece, or at least, you don't think it is. A carrot stick is popped out of the bag and makes its way to your mouth so you don't have to speak.

The mysterious maternal figure sighs, before approaching you around the flowerbed. The first thing you see is a beautiful regalia robe, white shimmers embroidered into the fabric and making the sleeves. The second thing isn't exactly one easily overlooked, however, as the person before you appears to be a goat. A bit of carrot threatens to end your life by lodging itself directly in your throat, but thankfully isn't much of a challenge for a hearty cough.

It is rather startling that this woman is, indeed, part goat, but something about her isn't threatening. A kind of love emanates from her, the same kind that coats her words in the emotional equivalent to hot chocolate. Her skin is covered in a thick white coat that dances in the dying light of day, now fading into a gentle dusk. Her eyes, too, are flames, shimmering with an amber seen in smoldering coals. Two horns curve up to the sky, mimicking the two corners of her mouth.

"Do not be afraid, my child," She adds, noticing your sudden choking. "I am Toriel. I mean you no harm, and I am simply the caretaker of these Ruins." Toriel gestures with one paw to the pillars, sky, and finally the flower bed. It lingers there for a moment, inviting you to take it.

You place a carrot stick there instead.

So much for being prepared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHA I'VE NEVER BEEN SPELUNKING. But I did take a short climbing safety class during school so, I guess that counts.


	2. A Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know what? People liked it, and I had ideas. THIS SHALL CONTINUE

Toriel was a very, very patient individual. It was admirable to see someone able to simply wait as you stared blankly into the remains of your carrot snack. The bag crinkled in your hand in a way that soothed your nerves, at least a little.

You had already taken some time to explain who you were and why you were down here. What was there to the story? Not much, if you were honest. Your thirst for exploration and adventure had landed you stranded in a cave, with your tent and ice chest abandoned on the surface above. At the very least, your friends would come to find you.

Or, you hoped, at least.

After a short bit, you finally stand from your position on the flowers. There is now a severe indent where you and your backpack were. Thankfully, some of the blooms already appear to be recovering. Toriel stands nearby, watching you lug your pack to the previously abandoned ladder.

"You will be taking that with you?" She asks, seeming at least a bit confused. "Do not worry, young one. The Ruins do not have many surprise pitfalls. You will be safe here." Although you desperately wish you could tell Toriel that you were technically a young adult, your politeness keeps you from doing so. Instead you merely shake your head and begin to re-roll the vertical bridge. It won't take long, you just need to wind it up and stuff it in your bag.

Toriel accepts this as enough explanation, and goes on to say that she would be waiting in the rooms next from these. With a big smile you give her a thumbs up, so she wouldn't be too horribly worried. You didn't want to give her too much hell. She seemed nice enough, after all, and appeared to be an incredibly good caretaker when all was said and done. Maybe she could show you the exit to these ruins?

It takes a good few minutes before you're finally finished packing the ladder into a tight roll, but then something that slipped your mind slipped right back in. The spikes you planted were still very much covered in a watery, sap-like substance. A bit of plant is also circled around one, ripped a half inch from the base. A light pinch causes more sap to ooze from the plant, a kind of light red gel that was now beginning to solidify from the mild air. You...did not have a good feeling about this.

Well, you didn't want to keep Toriel waiting. You stuff the ladder into your pack with the haste of a presumptuous child, sliding the spikes out and hanging them from your belt. You didn't want to get slime over everything else, after all.

With another heft, the pack takes its place on your back, and you set out to what Toriel called the Ruins. A beautiful arch stood between you and what appeared to be another mildly manipulated and carved out cave, with more chipped and sad pillars lining what may have been a great hallway. Another pock in the side of the mountain gave way here, shining a spotlight on an oddly grown patch of grass. Only a small spark of hesitation stood between you and the spotlight before you barreled into the hall.

And then, right before your eyes, something _far_ stranger than the goat woman you met appears. It is no horrible demon, or angel of grace. No, it was something so innocuous that you take a step backward, almost tumbling from your currently top-heavy nature.

Under the spotlight stands a flower. That was not there before. That was definitely not there before. And you hadn't seen many flowers with faces, much less living ones. It appeared to be a flower similar to the ones in the other room, but...again, with a face. And burrowing properties, it seemed, as it popped right from the earth!

It sizes you up under what you feel is a slightly chilling gaze before it notices you are, indeed, also a living being. In a mere second, the cold stare is now an incredibly friendly smile. "Howdy!"

Oh god it speaks. An involuntary expression of disgust and fear crosses your face. Now that is something the flower notices immediately. Its smile grows ever wider. "I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!" Under normal circumstances, you would comment on how laughably adorable that name was. These circumstances were most assuredly abnormal, and possibly dangerous.

"Golly, you look like an explorer!" Flowey quips, eyes darting to your side and above your head. "You came down here for a reason. But don't you know you can't get back up?"  
You open your mouth to answer, but words don't come. The flower giggles, and instead answers its own question.

" _Especially not after I got those nasty bolts out of my vine!_ " It snickers, grin wide and eyes staring directly at the spikes at your side. Your jaw simply hangs open. "Don't you check where you put your things? You may hurt someone!"

Flowey laughs a bit once more, instead cocking its head to the side. "Well, now that you're gonna be down here for a while, I might as well show you how we do things around here!" A lump appears in your throat, refusing to go down and stay down in your chest where the rest of the nerves are bundled. All you can do is grunt and mumble, a bit of wear even in your murmurings.

"Good to see that I have your co-operation!" It chimes, small rustles under the ground showing that there are still vines attached to this creature. "Are you ready? 'Cause ready or not, here it comes!"

An odd tug begins to emanate from Flowey, pulling you towards it more and more. You struggle valiantly, standing your ground as well as you can. But in the end, it doesn't seem to matter. With a last jolt, something vibrant exits your body. All color within the known universe peels away before you, and all you are left to behold is...nothing?

It takes you a moment to realize that whatever was taken out of you hasn't really gone anywhere. It simply relocated to the center of your chest. A timorous touch grants you a not entirely unpleasant warm feeling and a very soft pulsating that seems to echo across your body.

"That," Flowey gestures to the place you're touching, "Is your Soul. It's the culmination of your very being!" It's head bounces with exposition, petals seeming to shake in anticipation. "Your Soul starts off weak, but it grows if you get lots of LV!" L-V? Was that an acronym, or was there a magical force known as Ellvi down here as well? Thankfully your confusion is quickly cured when the flower hastily explains that LV was indeed an acronym. For 'LOVE', apparently. You're not sure if you buy it.

Flowey twists its stem a bit, before further saying that it'd share some of its love with you. "Down here, love is shared with...little, white...feel-good seeds!" It continues, and now you are terrified. Three spinning seeds emanate from Flowey, and each one is thrown in your direction in quick succession.

You didn't like this flower the moment you met it, with its sarcastic attitude and fake warmth. You don't like the look on that flowers face as each seed homes in on its target, and you don't like the seeds themselves. They look like little white bullets to you, and quite frankly, you're not ready to die today. So, you do what any rational person would. You sidestep the little white menaces. They wiz harmlessly past, hitting what you assume is a wall behind you.

Now, however, Flowey is a bit...unsettled, you'd call it. Its face, still wholly unnatural, morphs into one of mild disdain. "Uh...Hey, didn't you hear me earlier? I want to share some LOVE with you!" It swallows, although you're not entirely sure how. "Let's try again!"

This time, five, or maybe seven, seeds dart at you. Each of them are aimed at your soul, you'd assume. Sure enough, if you move, some of the other seeds change their path a bit to hit you square in the gut. Still with one hand over where you think your soul is, you scoot further to the side and attempt to hit one little white pellet out of the way. Oddly, it flies straight through your hand, but it does leave a little tingly feeling behind.

The flowers jimmies have been rustled now. Something resembling impatience, or perhaps anger, forms in the simulated facial features. "Come on, now. I know you're not stupid. They're magic! Now just run into them!"

You're still a bit confused over the tingling in your hand, but you do catch the fact that they're magic. What, does magic not affect ones physical form? Well, you know that's not entirely true, as you felt a whiff of oddness in your fingers. Maybe it just doesn't affect matter as much-

Unfortunately, while you muse, a little bullet smacks your soul directly. That doesn't feel odd. That hurts, and that hurts a lot! An involuntary yelp comes from the pain. All of your nerves are on fire from what couldn't be anything larger than a dime hitting you. You can't stand anymore, with the sheer ache of your supplies being just too much to handle.

Flowey laughs what might just be the most grim laugh you'd heard in your life. The face is so much worse, though. What couldn't be any less than a shark's mouth full of teeth all but jutted from the flower's malformed face, eyes crunched into a glare full of contempt. "Maybe you are an idiot." It sneers, as what felt like magical walls crunched onto you. "You were doing so well, too. But in this world, it's kill or be killed."

It hurts. Your eyes fall, unable to see through a swath of sudden tears. But you can hear. And what you hear is no less than twenty of the death seeds materializing from the air around you before closing in on where you knelt. Another laugh, this one evil and filled with agonizing spite, plays as the background track to your death.

You weren't prepared **at all**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter chapter this time around because writing 2500 words in one sitting takes a toll on my mind and eyes.


End file.
